Cpvc Pipe Installation Tips From a Professional Plumber
Lots of people often ask me for advice about installing CPVC pipe. They need new water lines and want to know if CPVC pipe is a good choice. Many want to know if it is really as easy to install CPVC plumbing as it looks. I mean, it requires no special tools and is really easy to put it together. You just glue it together, what could be easier?
Like most things in life, it’s not quite that simple. The truth is, CPVC pipe is a perfectly good product and can be an excellent choice for water pipes, but you do need to know a few things to do it right. For starters, you need to be able to properly size the pipe in your system and you need to be able to design the piping layout efficiently. There are also some things you need to know about CPVC piping installations in particular.
Here are a few tips to help you get a good system.
Strap It Right
Strap CPVC every 4′ horizontally and at least once between the floor and ceiling vertically. Use plastic support hooks and get the kind that hold the pipe a little off of the wood. CPVC expands and contracts like all plastic pipe and if it is fastened too tightly against the framing it can make a lot of popping and squeaking noises as time goes on.
Easy On The Glue
Don’t use too much CPVC cement. Apply glue sparingly in the CPVC fitting. If you get too much glue in the fitting, when you push the pipe into the fitting the glue will get pushed into the joint. If there is enough glue pushed in it can actually dissolve the pipe and cause a failure. I have also seen it cause a kind of bubble of glue in the joint which dries and blocks the pipe. That’s real fun to figure out when part of the system